Statement regarding Burroughs Community School

Dear Friends,

For weeks I have resisted getting mired in an unproductive public discussion about a visit that I made to Burroughs Community School. My attention is focused on the restructuring of our school district and there is little to be gained by engaging in anything that does not help improve things for our students. However, my silence has allowed hearsay and speculation to outweigh the positive conversations our communities are having about race and equity in Minneapolis Public Schools. For that reason I write to clarify a few things.

To be clear, I did not call the Burroughs community any name. However, I did question the appropriateness of a message from the Burroughs Site Council that openly states which kids of color they find “preferable” for purposes of achieving diversity. I remain clear on the fact that no public school community shall establish preferences for students on the basis of race, culture, ability, economic status, or non-traditional family status. Advocating for programming that serves a single ethnic group simply cannot be used as an excuse for the rejection of other groups. All children are welcome in all of our schools.

I also have challenged the troublesome messages authored by some parents of Burroughs students. The distribution of flyers in a public school that use the invidious and divisive language of America’s disgusting busing era is simply unacceptable in 2009. To follow that with a poster that labels some children as “losers” also crosses the line. These inappropriate messages are not isolated, in fact, they add to a large volume of culturally narcissistic email and letters I have received over a period of several months. Together the messages create a shrill and insufferable collective body of evidence that reflects a difference of values between some folks in that community and the Minneapolis Public Schools as an institution serving all children.

Burroughs parents that I know and trust assure me that the inappropriate and rigidly self-interested messaging is not exhibitive of the entire Burroughs community. I find this easy to believe in light of my multiple visits to Burroughs where I have been consistently satisfied that the children there are well nurtured, eager, bright, sharp, and incredibly engaging.

For the record, I am one of two school board members that passionately advocated for Burroughs to keep their Native Language Literacy program intact. However, the phasing out of the NLL program was acceptable to many when it meant more “neighborhood” kids would gain entrance to Burroughs. When MPS proposed a “mini-Choice is Yours” program, one that would open Burroughs to a diverse mix of low income children, there was a miraculous recommitment to the Native Language Literacy program.

As it stands today, Minneapolis Public Schools busses 1,600 children to school districts that include Edina, Wayzata, and St. Louis Park. At roughly $16,000 each, I'll allow you to calculate the effect on our district. While school choice is important to the families that choose suburban schools, Minneapolis has several schools that can compete with any of those districts, so it makes sense to offer these students a high quality option closer to home.

As for those officials in other elected positions that have taken extrajudicial action to intervene in a personnel matter on behalf of one small group, in opposition to the needs of our district’s 70% kids of color, I leave it to their own conscience. Careful observers may note that the intrusion represents a unique intervention in support of inequity, power, and privilege. Confronted with incomprehensible school reform challenges, school board members no longer have the option to pander that explicitly.

I have been inspired by the parents and community members collaborating throughout Minneapolis to help wrestle with the school reform issues that we all find vexing. I have seen them earn a great name for themselves by advocating for a fair process that addresses the needs of all families. I invite the Burroughs community and their supporters to any discussion table if they are so inclined to act with the greater good in mind and see themselves as part of a whole.

Thanks,  

Chris